Electric railway.



PATENTED MAY 5, 1903.

G. A. THOMBSQM BLEGTRIG RALWAY. APPLIQATIQN runnn. 4, 190s.

No MODEL.

@Lineaire a# UNITED STATES1 Patented May 5, '1903.

CLENDINEN A. THOMPso, or New YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 727,227, dated May 5, 1903.

Application iiled February 4,1903. Serial No. 141,854. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLENDINEN A. THOMPL SON, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of the borough of Manhattan, in the city and State of New York,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Electric Railways, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to an improvement in electric railways, and has more particularly for its object to provide an improved guardy or hood for the conducting-rail, which guard or hood embodies novel features of construction, material, and arrangement for rendering the same eminently suitable for use in connection with the exposed third rail of said electric railways.

A further object is to provide a device of the above character which may be applied to the third or conducting rails now in use without rearranging thje same in any particular, the only changes being made in the supporting-arm for the contact-shoe carried by the car. v

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents in Vertical transverse section so much of an electric railway as will give a clear understanding of my improvements. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of a portion of the guard or hood, showing the manner of securing the adjacent ends of two lengths of the guard or hood, a portion of the guard being broken away to more clearly show the connecting-plate for the said lengths. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken in the plane of the line A A of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken in the plane of the line B B of- Fig 2, Aand Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken in the plane of the line -C C of Fig. 3.

The third or conducting rail of the electric railway is denoted by l, and itis secured to the insulated supports 2 in the usual manner. The-guard or hood is securedalong its outer lower portion to the conducting-rail 1 by means of one or more bolts 3, which pass through the wall of the hood and outer spacing-block 4, the web of the rail, and an inner spacing-block 5. The inner bottom edge of the hood is located in about the same horizontal plane as the head of the conducting-rail,

'- frrn the outer bottom edge of the hood or guard to the inner bottom edge *thereof through suitable holes out transversely through the said strips 8. The heads of these bolts 9 may be secured in position by the bolt-s 3, which secure the hood to the rail, and the free ends of the bolts may be engaged by suitable tightening-nuts lO at the inner bottom edge of the hood.

The guard or hood is made up of a plurality of lengths, the adjacent ends of which may be joined together by a tongue-and-groove connection-such, for instance, as that shown herein, in which a plate or strap 1l is let into corresponding transverse grooves cut in the ends of the strips 8 of the hood.

The guard or hood made u p as hereinabove described forms a perfectinsulated protection for the conducting-rail and is also eX- tremely strong and durableand serves as a perfect protection for the rail in all kinds of weather. It will also be seen that by the use of the guard constructed and arranged as hereinabove set forth l am enabled to attach the same to the electric-railway systems now in use. without interfering with the present arrangement of the conducting-rail, the only change necessary being in the shape of the arm 6, which supports the contact-shoe 7. It will also be seen that the guard may be very readily removed from the rail when so desired.

What I claim is- 1. In an electric railway, the combination with the conducting-rail and its insulated support, of a guard or hood-for partially inclosing the rail secured thereto independently of the support.

2. In an electric railway, the combination with the conducting-rail and its insulated support, of a guard or hood therefor composed of a plurality of strips of wood secured to- IOO gether for partially inclosing the rail, the said guard or hood being secured to the rail independently of its support.

3. In an electric railway, the combination with the conducting-rail, of a guard or hood for partially inclosn g the same and means for securing the outer edge of the hood to the rail comprising spacing-blocks and bolts passing through the Wall of the guard or hood, the spacing-blocks and the rail.

4. In an electric railway, a guard or hood for the conducting-rail composed of a plurality of longitudinal strips of Wood and means for securing the strips together comprising bolts passing transversely through the strips.

5. In an electric railway, a guard or hood for the conducting-rail comprising a plurality of longitudinal strips of wood divided into lengths, means for securing the strips in their assembled position and means for joining the lengths comprising a plate or band countersunk into the adjacent ends of the said strips.

6. In an electric railway, a conducting-rail, a guard or hood composed of longitudinal strips of Wood, transverse bolts passing through the strips for securing them together and means for securing the guard or hood to the rail comprising spacing-blocks and bolts passing through the heads of the first-named bolts, the wall of the guard or hood, the spacing-blocks and the web of the conductingrail.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in presence of two Witnesses, this 2d day of February, 1903.

CLENDINEN A. THOMPSON.

Vitnesses FREDK. HAYNEs, HENRY THIEME. 

